Saturday, December 26, 2009

Branching Out

Legumes. Haven't really used them much. Until recently, I only ever used canned beans in chili. But I've had a few requests for thicker soups so decided to try adding them in.

The story behind today's soup began 2 days ago. I was so excited to make a prime rib roast for Christmas eve dinner, and had checked with Mom for details on cooking it. It was less than 4 pounds and, according to her directions it should have taken about an hour. Keeping on the schedule was very important to me, as we had presents to open and bedtimes to enforce. Well, as you might imagine, the roast took longer than expected. An HOUR longer. I was frantic! And the peas...sigh....fresh peas. From Whole Foods, even. They tasted like dirt. How disappointing.

My wonderful husband insists the roast tasted fine, but I am not convinced. All I know is that I need a new oven. Maybe two. But I digress. We saved the rest of the roast, almost half, really, to make soup this weekend.

Today I used my soup cookbook, 1001 Delicious Soups & Stews, and made the Rich Beef and Lentil Soup. I ran to the store to get leeks, but amazingly I had all the other ingredients. For Christmas I got the New England Soup Factory Cookbook but didn't have all the ingredients for the beef soup in there. Will have to plan ahead for those! The only change to the recipe is that I added red wine instead of white. After having lunch (mmmm) I canned 3 quarts in the pressure canner (90 minutes, 10 lbs of pressure) and saved a little for maybe dinner, maybe tomorrow.

4 comments:

The first time I cooked a prime rib I burned the hell out of $75.00 worth of good meat. I cried at the dinner table while everyone lied and told me it was delicious. I needed a new oven. The second attempt was perfect.

Dried legumes are so easy to cook, once you get past the convenience of opening a can. There's nothing like a good bean or lentil soup in the dark, cold of winter.

Social Bar

About Me

I wear many hats: mother, doctor, traveler, cook, just to name a few. I like to experiment. I like to eat. I love seeing the world. I like to get a little lost when I drive so I can find a new way home. This blog is my way of recording some of my experiments, recipes and experiences. Enjoy!